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With annual visitors reaching over 35 million, Las Vegas has become a destination that grows more popular each year. The average visitor's gambling budget per trip is around $500. To make that budget stretch, smart travelers look for cheap eats, cheap rooms and cheap entertainment so they can save some coin for the casino. With a little information, visitors can have the best time in Vegas without having to hit a jackpot to afford it.

Cheap Eats

One of the easiest ways to save money on food in Vegas is to eat your main meal at lunch, when prices are more reasonable than on the dinner menu. Joining a casino's free players club is another tip for cheap eating; a common bonus for signing up is a discount or comped trip to the hotel's restaurants or buffet. Discount ticket kiosks such as Tix 4 Tonight are located all over Las Vegas and carry 50 percent off tickets for major restaurants such as Planet Hollywood in Caesars Palace, Flavors, The Buffet in Harrahs and SteakHouse 46 in the Flamingo. Buffet tickets are $2, and restaurant tickets are $3 as of July 2010. For a quick, inexpensive bite, try the cheap hot dog and beer deal at the Sahara or the inexpensive steak dinner at Ellis Island.

Cheap Entertainment

Tix 4 Tonight offers half-price tickets for many of Vegas' permanent shows and headliners, and free entertainment is available all over Vegas. In addition to the pirate battle at TI, the volcano eruption at the Mirage, the dancing fountains at the Bellagio and the warring statues at Caesars Forum Shops, a number of lounges offer excellent live music for the cost of a cocktail. Notable among these are the La Scena Lounge in the Venetian, which features cover bands playing Motown, rock and roll, today's top hits and disco. Napolean's Dueling Piano Bar in Paris features champagne at all price points and lively dueling pianists, as does the Palazzo's Salute Lounge, where the pianists play, sing and encourage audience participation.

Cheap Rooms

For the best prices on hotel rooms in Las Vegas, travel during the off months of June, July and August, when the temperatures often break the 100-degree mark. Rooms are heavily discounted to attract guests. Avoid popular break times such as New Year's Eve, spring break, weekends and holidays, when prices go up. Joining a casino's players club may get you discounted or comped rooms, especially if you use your players card every time you gamble and charge everything to your room. Discount hotel websites such as i4vegas.com offer information and discounted rates on all Las Vegas area hotels (well over 200 of them) by working directly with the hotels to sell unsold rooms. Contact your air carrier for discounted package deals on airplane tickets and major hotels.

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About the Author

Elizabeth Park has written since 1983, with work appearing in the "Oxnard Press Courier" in Oxnard, Calif., "The Centre Daily Times" in State College, Pa., and online at VisitSouth and other websites. Park holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Pennsylvania State and completed graduate work at Rutgers University in English literature and Emory University in theology.